Corona with a slice of bud

The Svedka vodka and Corona beer maker’s mission is to “elevate life with every glass raised.” By purchasing 9.9 percent of Canada’s Canopy Growth for C$245 mln it can add tokes of marijuana to that vision. It’s telling to see big booze beat big tobacco to the fiesta.

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Constellation Brands on Oct. 30 said it bought a nearly 10 percent stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth for about C$245 million ($191 million), the first major wine, beer and spirits producer to invest in legal cannabis.

The move by the maker of Corona beer and Svedka vodka comes as Canada and a growing number of U.S. states move to legalize marijuana for recreational use, raising question marks over its illegal status at the U.S. Federal level.

“We’re obviously trying to get first-mover advantage,” Constellation Chief Executive Rob Sands told the Wall Street Journal. He said he expected the cannabis industry to be legalized nationwide in the United States in coming years.